The events of Jan. 1 lie heavy on our hearts, despite the fact that former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle has now been charged with a criminal act. The officer-involved shooting that resulted in the death of Oscar Grant III serves as a tragedy for all concerned. We have extended condolences to his family and friends, and to the community that mourns his death.

In the aftermath of this tragedy, we seek to restore your trust in BART as a responsible public agency. We must examine actions that can work to improve our role in public safety, and restore your confidence that we will protect our riders and guard against crime on the BART system.

We have spent many hours meeting with community leaders. At our BART Board meeting on Jan. 8, we devoted more than six hours to listening to community concerns. On Jan. 12, during our special board meeting, we established a board committee to examine models of citizen police oversight so that we could consider forming a similar body. This includes consideration of policy or procedural changes and the role of citizen activism in reviewing police performance.

We will reach out to all geographical areas within the BART service area. In doing so, we want to do everything to ensure open and honest communication with the, the media, elected officials and BART employees. The end result will focus on creating a trusted and reliable process so that everyone knows what is going on, even if we may be limited in what we can reveal.

Also on Jan. 12, BART Police submitted the results of our internal investigation to the Alameda County District Attorney's office, which on Jan. 14 issued charges alleging murder. What this case has shown is that no one is above the law, but that everyone is entitled to due process.

We will watch closely as the case goes to court, as we want to know what happened on Jan. 1. While the former police officer invoked his rights under the law to not reveal information, we hope that the process will answer both all unanswered questions.

We want you to know this one incident is not reflective of BART or its police force. We proudly support the 206 sworn officers of the BART Police Department who work every day to ensure the safety of more than 100 million customers who annually ride BART, following principles established by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.

While the events on New Year's Day were indeed tragic, it is our hope that something positive will occur as a result. We believe that BART can learn, grow and change what's needed to change from this tragedy, and our history shows that we can achieve that end. We welcome your input as we proceed.